


Rodney McKay's Hot, Wet Summer

by TheNinth



Series: Stargate Atlantis: Earth-Based [4]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-07
Updated: 2009-07-07
Packaged: 2017-10-05 02:03:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNinth/pseuds/TheNinth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Can potentially be interpreted as pre-slash.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rodney McKay's Hot, Wet Summer

It was hot. At a melting 93 degrees and a heat index that made it feel like 110 thanks to humidity that was through the roof, you couldn't even say "at least it's a dry heat". Sweating was useless. Not that that stopped Rodney. He was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, untying his shoes, feeling his shirt clinging uncomfortably to his back, and wondering what god or alien culture he'd pissed off this time. There was no reason, in 2013, for a house to be a toasty 85 degrees. Not when the air conditioner was running to the point of exhaustion.

He'd called Jennifer at work and asked if she'd called in a repairman.

"It's fine, Rodney. Don't be so dramatic. It's just too humid out. We're supposed to get some rain by the middle of next week and it'll cool off again."

"Middle of next week? I could be dead by then!"

Her laugh came through the phone, low and soft and sweet. "You're not going to die, Rodney. Just go take a cold bath. Drink some ice water. If you bring your core temperature down you'll feel better." There was commotion in the background. "Oh! Gotta go. I'll be home around seven tonight. Want me to pick up something on the way home?"

Rodney tried to say "an igloo" but the noise got louder and he could hear Jennifer shouting various commands to nurses, so he hung up without saying anything at all.

So here he was, miserable and uncomfortable even though the thermostat was set to sixty. The upstairs of the house was still in the mid-eighties, and the tiny, unventilated bathroom was almost tropical and she seriously expected him to not die?

He looked at his feet and realized that his socks had left deep dents in his calves. The heat, the constant sitting, the ... the boredom of academia was starting to take its toll on him physically. It was only August and he was only in the office for a few hours a week getting his syllabus and lesson plans in order, and checking that the bookstore had all three of the required books for his classes and already the sitting was making his legs swell. He was on his way to varicose veins and blood clots, for sure.

He finished undressing and tried not to look at himself in the mirror that hung on the back of the bathroom door. Rodney hadn't been skinny since his undergrad days, but back on Atlantis he'd at least been fit. Running from certain death, living on the edge of panic, constant treks through the wilderness had made him stronger. Fitter.

Happier?

Yeah. Happier. Because dying because a Wraith was sucking the life out of you was slightly more noble than life sucking the life out of you. Getting blown up by incompetent scientists had a little more dignity than an aneurysm on the stairs somewhere between the third and fourth floor of the science building.

And then it occurred to him: he loved Jennifer, but not this life. This wasn't who he was. This wasn't who he'd ever been. Maybe at one point he thought he wanted this, but at one point he thought he wanted to be a concert pianist. Hell, he was pretty sure that at some point in his life he thought he wanted to be a race car.

He felt like Archimedes; a brilliant discovery had come to him in the bath. Rodney avoided the temptation to shout "Eureka" and instead got out of the tub and dripped through the hall and into the bedroom. John's number was the second speed-dial button.

"McKay?" John's voice was hollow. Rodney hated when Sheppard used the speakerphone.

"I can't do this anymore," Rodney started. "You need to come over here right now and we have to talk."


End file.
